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Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Netwrix Data Classification comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Purview Data Gove...
Ranking in Data Governance
1st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (10th)
Netwrix Data Classification
Ranking in Data Governance
30th
Average Rating
10.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Governance is 11.5%, down from 21.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Netwrix Data Classification is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Microsoft Purview Data Governance11.5%
Netwrix Data Classification1.4%
Other87.1%
Data Governance
 

Featured Reviews

AS
Tech lead at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Automated data discovery has streamlined management while configuration remains complex
Compared to Big-ID, Microsoft Purview Data Governance looks complicated to me. I do not feel it has a good user-level UI. The interface feels a little complicated compared to Big-ID. I did not appreciate the configuration part. It felt complex, whereas when I went for a Big-ID demo, the interface looked better and was easier to understand for any user.
GF
Isms Manager & Information Systems Security at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Automated data labeling has reduced manual work and supports our privacy compliance needs
We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access anywhere the document is. We need a security feature so that if we have classified a document as strictly confidential and given it to a third party, that document remains strictly confidential. There has to be a way to enforce it and prevent the document from being shared with any other person apart from the person it was sent to. We do not want AI in security products for now, as AI in security products tends to be risky. AI can improve reporting and detection, but it should not execute.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"One of the best features is the classification rules, especially the scan rule sets. They are really useful, especially when we need to understand the current data the company has to ensure that all the problematic data can be put under someone's responsibility."
"I think Purview does as good a job...I'll say that it is as stable as the data governance maturity that exists within an organization. It can't be more stable than that."
"I like Purview's data discovery features. It automatically scans and identifies all the fields. In the last project, the customer required us to have some of the codes we specified in this, and we had to structure the codes in a specific way. We can define the structure."
"I use the tool in projects as a medium to provide information as reports to the stakeholders."
"The sensitivity labeling is the most valuable feature because it is the foundation for automating the encryption process and ensuring proper data handling across the organization."
"The DLP part and the AI related ones are the most valuable features; I mostly appreciate their automated data discovery."
"The audit log has been a lifesaver for a lot of reasons. Historically, when using SaaS products, there were always questions about how the audit was going and whether we were sufficient out of the box. Purview has many capabilities available through centralized reporting that provide a view of a specific segment."
"One important feature is data security, which both end users and the organization seek."
"There is a massive cost saving; it is easy to use, the reporting is clean, and it is simpler to use than the Microsoft DLP solution, Purview."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager finds the data in a very efficient manner, and the efficacy of the solution is very good."
"It's highly flexible and scalable, offering customers the choice to match their needs and budget."
 

Cons

"Another area for improvement is in managing the business glossary terms. If they could provide the same type of method that we use to configure the scan rule sets, that would be helpful. Currently, there is no option like this, so we have to do it manually. Automatic detection would be great."
"We have had some issues automating our document management with Power Apps. I haven't been super-disappointed with anything except for Power Apps, which kinda drives me nuts. I think it's because I am a coder who can do things properly, and I keep trying to do things there, but it's not working out the way. The security team is pretty quick. I'm kind of a thorn in their side. I always try to get around stuff. They haven't come to me for anything saying, "Hey, I can't find this information." They're pretty good. Maybe, there's a lack of documentation, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for our team."
"The product must provide better integrations with OS X and iOS."
"We have had a lot of issues since we moved to Unified Support. There have been work gaps there, and we believe they fixed them, but we need to make sure that they are going to be sustainable. It is to be seen."
"There are some non-Microsoft file formats that are not supported."
"I lose a little bit of that control when we're talking about third-party connectors. Compliance-wise, I would like to see more ability to audit from a user perspective, where I could extrapolate what the user was thinking or trying to do."
"he one thing it doesn't do is data quality."
"The support could be better, particularly with consulting."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager is very good at network data classification, but it also has to work on endpoint data classification because clients ask for it."
"We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access anywhere the document is."
"One of the key issues is its interface and querying capabilities, which can be complex, making it difficult to interpret logs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"People often and unjustly say that Microsoft product pricing is not in the scope of reality, that it's just too expensive at times. I do not feel that is the case at all... If I'm able to let go of 30 to 70 percent of my IT administration staff, that makes up for a lot of money."
"Price-wise, I think it's very generous and accessible to not just enterprises but small to medium-sized companies as well. I think it's very fair in terms of how they break apart the storage and the actual computing, and that makes it very accessible. So, that is a very big plus for Purview."
"The pricing is reasonable because it's part of the 365 E3 or E5 license you buy."
"It's not cheap. I'm not exactly sure how much our license costs, but it is very expensive."
"Microsoft Purview has a pay-per-use pricing model, so it's one of the most cost-effective tools, as your cost will be based on your usage. It's a pricing model that Microsoft has nailed down, making it great whether you're a small organization or a multinational, giant organization."
"Purview's price is pretty high when you factor in storage costs."
"We pay $15,000 per end user for the E5 license."
"Microsoft Purview is expensive."
"Netwrix Data Classification Manager has an affordable price."
"The initial pricing might seem reasonable, but costs can quickly escalate when adding components."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise32
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Purview?
Microsoft Purview Data Governance is quite affordable compared to other market solutions, which have high initial costs. It allows for a cost-effective start with negligible initial cost. However, ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Purview?
The features in the actual data governance could be improved, and I think there is room for improvement in the product. We haven't used role-based access control in a complex way; it's somehow embe...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Azure Purview?
We are currently working with Microsoft Purview Data Governance and other Microsoft products. We are using Microsoft Purview Data Governance.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Netwrix Data Classification Manager?
There is a cost increase. When Microsoft moved or divided the features, they also added cost to it. In order to get those features back, we will be paying much more than before to get the same feat...
What needs improvement with Netwrix Data Classification Manager?
We would like to enforce labeling currently in place. If a document is classified as strictly confidential, we want to be able to apply a profile that can cause documents to expire or revoke access...
What is your primary use case for Netwrix Data Classification Manager?
We want to discover documents and classify them automatically rather than manually classifying them. We give them labels from internal to confidential to strictly confidential. That way all the doc...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Purview, MS Azure Purview
No data available
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs. Netwrix Data Classification and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,728 professionals have used our research since 2012.